


Grotesque Alterations

by Ysabetwordsmith



Series: Frankenstein's Family [5]
Category: Frankenstein & Related Fandoms, Frankenstein (1931), Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
Genre: Alternate Universe - Family, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Alternate Universe - Trans, Beautiful, Body Dysphoria, Canon Disabled Character, Class Differences, Class Issues, Classics, Compromise, Disability, Families of Choice, Family, Family Dynamics, Family Feels, Family Secrets, Feminist Themes, Friendship/Love, Gender Dysphoria, Gender Identity, Gender Issues, Genderbending, Good and Evil, Gothic, Healing, Home, Home Improvement, Hurt/Comfort, Love, No Sex, Other, Physical Disability, Platonic Romance, Repairs, Romance, Romantic Friendship, Science Boyfriends, Science Family, Science Fiction, Sculpture, Trans Character, Trans Male Character, Unconventional Families, Victorian Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-11
Updated: 2014-02-11
Packaged: 2018-01-11 23:19:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1179127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ysabetwordsmith/pseuds/Ysabetwordsmith
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Storm damage to their castle starts a debate between Victor and Igor over the remnants of a stone angel and a grotesque.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Grotesque Alterations

**Author's Note:**

> This poem came out of the December 3, 2013 Poetry Fishbowl.  It was inspired by a prompt from LiveJournal user Baaing_tree.  It also fills the "Disability (Chronic)" square in [my 11-26-13 card](http://ysabetwordsmith.dreamwidth.org/9528296.html) for the Origfic Bingo fest.  This poem has been selected [in an audience poll](http://ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com/3128443.html) as the free epic for the February 4, 2014 Poetry Fishbowl reaching the $200 goal.

The blizzard had taken a toll  
on Victor and Igor's castle.  
A heavy coating of ice and snow  
had torn loose a stone angel  
from the peak of the roof  
and sent it careening down  
into one of the grotesques.

The angel's wings had broken off  
and come to rest at the base   
of the grotesque -- all that was left,  
the rest of the angel having   
smashed itself to bits in the courtyard.

The grotesque was also missing   
the broad bat wings it used to show,  
now scattered across the pavers  
along with the remains of the angel.

"It's sad," Victor said quietly,  
as he ran his fingers   
over the chipped stone.  
"The storm did a lot of damage."

"It's ugly," Igor said,  
glaring at the grotesque  
with its curved back  
marred by the stumps of wings.  
"It has claws on its hands  
and goat hooves on its feet."

"Well, I like him anyway,"  
Victor said. He had always  
found beauty in what  
others considered hideous.  
"He has such a kind face.  
I think he's a handsome fellow."

Igor chuckled. "You would,"  
he said. "I prefer the angels."

"They're so beautiful that they're boring,"  
Victor said, looking up at the line of them --   
now missing one member -- along the peak.  
"Besides, a fair face can hide an evil heart."

"Most people just believe that   
the outside matches the inside,"  
Igor said bitterly, hunching under  
layers of heavy clothes  
as he tried to stay warm.

"Most people are fools,"  
Victor said. He stroked a hand  
down the warped curve of Igor's back,  
just as he had done with the grotesque.

"We should shove this one off  
and see about replacing it,  
if we can afford to," Igor said.  
He glared at the broken statue.

"I don't want to do away with him,"  
Victor said. "We can fix him."  
He touched the stubs  
where the bat wings had been.

"We're not stonemasons,"  
Igor pointed out. "I don't think  
even a master carver could   
do anything with what's left of its wings."

"I could make new ones   
out of something else,"   
Victor insisted.

Igor reached out a thoughtful toe  
and tapped the angel wings.  
"It's a pity about these," he said.  
"They were so lovely."

Awkwardly he bent down  
to pick up one of them.  
Even under the layers of cloth,  
the cold stiffened his back  
so Igor could barely lift the stone  
to hold it against the grotesque.

"They wouldn't even match,"  
Victor said, looking from the white wing  
to the darker gray grotesque.

"Neither do we, really,"  
Igor said. "If you want  
to fix the grotesque,  
then I want to keep   
what I can of the angel."

Victor looked down  
at the ruins in the courtyard  
and the pieces still on the roof.  
It was something they had in common,  
this desire to fix what was broken,  
to find a way even if it wasn't the usual.

"All right," Victor said,  
"let's take some measurements  
so we can put this project together."  
He lifted the stone wing from Igor's hands  
to take the strain off his back.

It took a week to assemble  
a sturdy harness of metal that   
would hold the angel wings in place --   
and to wait for the next storm to subside.

Then Victor took the contraption onto the roof,  
with Igor waddling along beside him,  
kept warm by sachets of heated sand  
under his thick winter coat.

Bulky though it was, the arrangement  
kept Igor's back limber enough  
that he could help Victor  
hoist the stone wings into place.

Together they tightened all the fittings,  
fresh metal gleaming brightly  
against the weathered stone.  
The white wings stretched high  
above the hunched back of the grotesque,  
framing the halo that Victor insisted on adding.

"There now, doesn't he look splendid?"  
Victor said, stepping back to admire their work.  
"I suppose he does," Igor agreed.  
"He's lucky to have you there to patch him up."

"I couldn't have done it without you,"  
Victor said. "Come on now,   
let's get you back inside  
before you seize up in the cold."

Inside the castle was warmer, and  
their son Adam drowsed on a thick rug  
in front of the hearth,  
penned in by heavy pillows.

Igor looked out through the window  
at the repaired statue,  
bits and pieces somehow looking right.  
He snuggled against Victor,  
and the taller man molded himself  
against the thick curve of Igor's back,  
not minding it at all.

Victor's body wasn't what it should be, either,   
but to Igor it was just part of Victor;  
the slight curves and the firm corset  
didn't make Igor think him any less of a man.  
They shared the same warmth,  
cuddling together against the cold.

"I'm lucky to have you too,"  
Igor whispered.

"We're lucky to have each other,"  
Victor said, and it was true,  
how they fit together in ways   
that made their broken pieces feel whole.

**Author's Note:**

> [Grotesques](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grotesque) are garish architectural sculptures [related to gargoyles](http://twistedsifter.com/2013/04/gargoyle-and-grotesque-sculptures-around-the-world/), dating back to [medieval times](http://www.medieval-life-and-times.info/medieval-art/gargoyles.htm).  They are [vulnerable to storm damage](http://www-604.chartisinsurance.com/PCG/internet/en/files/ProtectingOutdoorSculptures_tcm674-99376.pdf).
> 
> [Gothic](http://smago.coe.uga.edu/VirtualLibrary/Phillips.pdf) aesthetics span [literature](http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Gothic_fiction.html) and [architecture](https://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Gothic_architecture.html).  Much of the grotesque -- from statuary to storytelling -- derives from this movement.
> 
> Grotesques and gargoyles are [rich in symbolism](http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/oxford/gargoyles.html), illustrating [sins and demons](http://garyrvarner.webs.com/gargoylesgrotesques.htm) for illiterate viewers.  Cloven feet, bat wings, and chimerae are [some examples of meaningful features](http://www.kuriositas.com/2012/08/gargoyles-glorious-gruesome-grotesques.html).
> 
> Victor and Igor have different beliefs about the relationship between evil and ugliness, good and beauty.  Igor associates [ugliness with evil](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EvilMakesYouUgly).  Victor finds [beauty in ugliness](http://news.sudanvisiondaily.com/article.html?rsnpaid=910).  Compare this with the tropes [Ugly Cute](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/UglyCute) and [The Ugly Duckling](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/TheUglyDuckling).  Notice that I often twist the [Grotesque trope](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheGrotesque) in more positive directions.  Igor associates [beauty with goodness](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BeautyEqualsGoodness).  Victor has seen how [beauty can be evil](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BeautyIsBad), and he also feels that [true beauty comes from within](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TrueBeautyIsOnTheInside). 
> 
> The [ugliness of the Creature](http://web.nsboro.k12.ma.us/algonquin/faculty/englishteachers/coppens/documents/30031925.pdf), contrasted with his inner innocence, comprises a major theme in [the original _Frankenstein_ novel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenstein).  Therefore what we do with that in this series matters a lot in metasculpting the story we tell.  While many writers only portray attractive characters, many of mine are ordinary, plain, or downright ugly.  I think it's important to [feature ugly characters too](http://writinglonghand.wordpress.com/2013/01/06/putting-ugly-characters-in-my-writing/), and give them the same chances to succeed that attractive characters routinely enjoy.  I am not a fan of the [Sorting Algorithm of Mortality](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SortingAlgorithmOfMortality), other than using it as a guide for setting up rows of things to shoot off of the fence.
> 
> People often discard [broken things](http://gentwenty.com/america-the-wasteful-a-detailed-look-into-our-throw-away-society/) and [damaged people](http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/what-do-i-do-now/200908/where-are-you-when-i-need-you-most).  This is a bad habit that Igor has picked up from how other people tend to treat him, although you can see it clashing with his frugal lower-class background.  He'd love to have the luxury of pitching things that break.  Others prefer to [fix broken things](http://aeon.co/magazine/being-human/philip-ball-art-of-repair/) and [heal damaged people](http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/04/29/finding-healing-when-youre-broken/).  In fact, [things can become more beautiful](http://www.camiimac.com/1/post/2013/01/kintsukuroi-more-beautiful-for-having-been-broken.html) for having been broken and then repaired.  Despite his privileged background, Victor favors this approach.  Interestingly, [damaged people can help each other](http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/09/09/1237705/-The-Grieving-Room-All-the-broken-people), so that [the broken pieces rejoin](http://www.pinterest.com/pin/114912227966225970/).  That's a key theme in this series, why Victor and Igor have such a bumpy ride in their relationship, and why they are good for each other anyhow.


End file.
